It has been nice to see Plants flowering on Pavements &c.

Walking round to the Shops to purchase Supplies, we noticed that it hasn't taken long for the Wild Flowers to grow and flower on Pavements, in Roadside Gutters &c. Nor will it probably take long for the Council to arrange for them to be sprayed with Weed Killer!

But in the meantime, it was nice to see Cornsalad, Herb Robert and Ivy-Leaved Toadflax, amongst others, including Henbit Dead-Nettle and Rue-Leaved Saxifrage, flowering viz.

And the Ivy-Leaved Toadflax had even attracted an assumed Honey Bee.

Henbit Dead-Nettle

Henbit Dead-Nettle (aka Happy Giraffes) flowers beside a Public Road in the Upper Abbey Wood area:

Also flowering in considerable profusion were Dove's-Foot Crane's-Bill and Spotted Medick.

Dandelions

We flirted briefly with the notion of trying to learn about Dandelions. However, we have enough on our Plate with Bees, Hoverflies, Wild Flowers &c. We are very much aware of our limitations.

But we see nothing wrong in seeing if we can find seemingly different Dandelions: we just don't need to worry about identifying them.

To set the Ball rolling, this Dandelion was seen in Lesnes Abbey Woods:

It is, we understand, a Lion's Tooth Dandelion viz. Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia

A Diminutive Bug in the Garden (at Home)

We initially thought this Diminutive Character to be a Fly but he/she turned out to be a Bug: namely Rhopalus subrufus:

They apparently have a liking for St John's-Wort which grows in the Garden.

The Sighting has been submitted to iRecord.

Back again to Lesnes Abbey Woods

We had vaguely thought of going down to the Footpath that runs behind the Crossness Sewage Works (aka The Butterfly Alley and The Butterfly Ride) but decided against: being a bit of a trek, we decided instead to go to the local Woods and buy a Loaf of Bread on the way Home. But of course, being Easter Sunday, all the Shops were closed.

Butterfly' Species seen: Brimstone, Comma, Orange-Tip, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

We notched up another Bee-Fly for iRecord viz. this Bee-Fly visiting a Bluebell:

Wild Flower' Species seen included:

Bluebell
Brooklime
Bush Vetch viz.

Cow Parsley
Dog's-Mercury
Garlic Mustard
Germander Speedwell viz.

Greater Stitchwort viz.

Ground-Ivy
Hogweed
Ivy-Leaved Speedwell viz.

Lesser Celandine
Lords-and-Ladies viz.

(a possible) Pond-Sedge Species viz.

Wild Garlic
Wood Anemone
Wood Melick viz.

a Wood Sage Species
Yellow Archangel viz.

and Yellow Pimpernel viz.

A couple of Garden' Bees

[i] a Red Mason Bee viz.

and [ii] a Vestal Cuckoo Bee viz.

The Sightings have been submitted to iRecord.

To Bostall Heath (the Royal Borough of Greenwich) and the Surrounding area in search of Bee-Flies and Butterflies

Having just submitted, for the first time, some Bee-Fly Sightings to iRecord, we thought it would be nice to submit some for Bostall Heath if we could (for which we didn't have any formal Records). Pleasingly, we saw quite a few and managed to photograph three: the Sightings have been submitted to iRecord. Not many Records overall, but we suppose they all count:

And we also managed to see a few Butterflies viz.

a Brimstone Butterfly
a Green-Veined White Butterfly
a Holly Blue Butterfly (our first of 2020)
three Peacock Butterflies
nine Speckled Wood Butterflies viz.

and six unidentified White Butterflies (including a possible Orange-Tip Butterfly)

Wild Flower' Species seen included: Balkan Spurge, Bluebell, Bush Vetch, Caper Spurge, Coral Spurge, Cow Parsley, an unidentified Dock viz.

Garlic Mustard, Green Alkanet, Honesty, Lesser Celandine, Lords-and-Ladies, Red Dead-Nettle, Stinking Iris, Wild Garlic and Wood Anemone (we had previously thought they had all gone but found we were mistaken).

We spend the day at Home

Out into the Garden to take a few Sedum cuttings &c. and also see who or what was about: Bees (including a Common Carder Bee, Hairy-Footed Flower-Bees, an assumed Honey Bee and an assumed Nomada-Type Bee), Bee Flies, Butterflies (two Speckled Wood Butterflies and a Small White Butterfly) and Hoverflies (Epistrophe eligans, Ephyrphus balteatus, Eristalis pertinax and an Eupeodes sp.) viz.

[i] a Common Carder Bee:

[ii] an assumed Honey Bee:

[ii] a Bee Fly:

And one, if not both of the Navelworts, certainly giving the impression of flowering fairly shortly:

Our First Lesnes' Butterfly Transect Walk

We made it round: up Hill and down Dale (some super-steep) viz.

including a few we didn't need to after going the wrong way.

But we saw some Butterflies: namely:

three Brimstone Butterflies
three Comma Butterflies viz.

a Green-Veined White Butterfly viz.

sixteen Peacock Butterflies
and an Unidentified White Butterfly (we can't really take the Net with us: at least as things stand at present)

Wild Flowers seen included: Bluebells, Common Dog-Violet, Greater Stitchwort, Ground-Ivy, Lesser Celandine, Lords-and-Ladies, Wild Garlic, Wood Anemone, Wood Sorrel and Yellow Archangel.

[i] Bluebells and Lesser Celandine:

[ii] Greater Stitchwort:

[iii] Lords-and-Ladies:

and [iv] Wood Sorrel:

Of Common Stork's-Bill and Spotted Medick

Seen growing on Holly Hill beside Brook Street (sadly, the Bird's-Foot has been 'weeded' out although it may hopefully return):

Some Wild Flowers

En-Route to the East Wickham Open Space we walked down Lodge Hill looking for Wild Flowers on the side of the Road that is left to grow partially Wild. At least until now.

Wild Flower' Species seen included:

Black Medick viz.

Buddleia
Cleavers viz.

Cock's-Foot
Common Chickweed
Common Field-Speedwell
Common Ragwort
Common Vetch viz.

Cow Parsley
Creeping Thistle
Daisy
Dock Species (unidentified) viz.

Dandelion
Feverfew
(Garden) Grape Hyacinth
Garlic Mustard
Green Alkanet
Groundsel
Herb Robert
Hoary Cress
Honesty
Ivy-Leaved Speedwell viz.

Musk Stork's-Bil
Pellitory-of-the-Wall
Red Dead-Nettle
Ribwort Plantain
Round-Leaved Crane's-Bill
Shepherd's-Purse
Sow-Thistle
Spotted Medick viz.

Three-Cornered Garlic
and Yarrow

And a Green-Veined White Butterfly obligingly posed for the Camera viz.

A White Vetch

En-Route on Sunday to the Thames Path via the Footpath that runs between Norman Road North and the Thames Path we noticed a white Vetch. Could it be Vicia sepium var. ochroleuca (White Bush Vetch) we wondered? Some assumed Vicia sepium (Bush Vetch) is growing nearby:

Grid Reference: TQ 49787 80642 or thereabouts.

It would appear to be unusual so we submitted the Sighting to the Kent Botanical Recording Group (KBRG).

The KBRG replied noting that our Plant looks like Vicia sepium in everything except colour. Apparently, Vicia sepium var. ochroleuca has been used to cover forms with yellowish-white Flowers and Plants with pure white Flowers, like our one, have been called, Vicia sepium sub-var. alba. The Sighting has been entered in the County Database: presumeably as Vicia sepium sub-var. alba.